Post on 06-Apr-2018
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Kautilya (317-293 B.C.)Strategizing Warfare and Diplomacy
Lecture 4
Syed Muhammad Ali
NDU2011
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Kautilya:
Key advisor to the Indian
King ChandraguptaMaurya (317-293 B.C.)
Authored Arthashastra,
which dealt with science ofPolitics, intended to teach a
wise king how to rule.
.
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Recognition ad relevance
Academic recognition:
Max Weber, recognized asthe principal architect ofmodern social science bythe Stanford Encyclopedia
of Philosophy, describedArthashastra as one thegreatest political books ofthe ancient world, calling itas truly radical
Machiavellianism.
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Diverse Practical Utility
Practitioners in various fieldscontinue to follow Kautilyan ideasin various disciplines rangingfrom Indian diplomacy,geopolitical grand strategy,
business intelligence, IndianIntelligence services strategy andtactics, leadership andmanagement courses etc.
In consonance with Kautilyas
precepts, RAWs espionagedoctrine is based on the principleof waging a continuous series ofbattles of intrigues and secretwars.
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Relevance to Modern Statecraft, Policy and Strategy
Probably the first-ever academic proponent of Geopolitics, Kautilya dealt with
various types of wars, diplomacy, alliances, treaties, intelligence, psychological
warfare, propaganda and strategic communication, all of which continue to berelevant to modern strategy and particularly the contemporary South Asian
geopolitical environment.
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ArthasastraA leaders Manual in Realist Statecraft
Contents Warfare
Types of warfare
World Conquest Diplomacy
Alliances and adversariesWho and why?
Treaties and international Agreements
Role of Intelligence and Secret services Propaganda, Strategic Communications and
Psychological warfare
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Comparison with other Classical
Realist thoughts
Compared to it, Machiavellis The
Prince is harmless.
Source:
Max Weber, Politics as a Vocation, Cambridge,
1978, P.220
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Realism without a parallel..
..his wish to have his king become a world conqueror, hisevaluation of which kingdoms are natural allies and which areinevitable enemies, his willingness to maketreaties that he knew hewouldbreak, his doctrine ofsilent war or a war of assassinationandcontrived revolt against an unsuspecting king, his approval ofsecret agents who killed enemy leaders and sowed discord among
them, his view ofwomen as weapons of war, his use of religion andsuperstition to bolsterhis troops anddemoralize enemy soldiers,his employment of disinformation, and his humane treatment ofconquered soldiers andsubjects.
Source:Roger Boesche, Kautilyas Arthasastra on War and Diplomacy in
Ancient India, The Journal of Military History, 2003
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Historical Background
Kautilya, key advisor to Indian KingChandragupta Maurya (c. 317293 B.C.E.), whodefeated the Nanda kings, stopped the advance of
Alexanders successors, and thefirstto unite mostof the Indian subcontinent in an empire.Kautilyasometimes called chancellor or primeminister to Chandragupta, composed his Artha
s- astra, orscience ofpolitics, to show a wiseking how to defeat his enemies and rule on behalfof the general good.
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Use of Political assassination to gain
power
Just afterAlexanders death in 323 B.C.E., Chandragupta and Kautilyabegan their conquest of India by stopping the Greek invaders. In this effort
they assassinated two Greek governors, Nicanor and Philip.
The assassinations of the Greek governors, wrote Radha KumudMookerji, are not to be looked upon as mere accidents.
By taking much of western India (the Punjab and the Sindh) from the Greeks
and concluding a treaty with Seleucus (Alexander the Greats Greek heir to
western India), Chandragupta and Kautilya succeeded in bringing togetheralmost all of the Indian subcontinent and is now considered thefirstunifier
of India and thefirstemperor of India.
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No substitute to hard Power
Megasthenes, theambassador of Seleucus toChandraguptawrote thatChandraguptas armytotaled about six hundred
thousand infantry, thirtythousand calvalry, eightthousand chariots, and ninethousand elephants.
Source:
Wolpert, A New History of India, 59;(Baltimore, Md.: Penguin Books, 1966),79.
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Secularization of societyEssential instrument for Social-restructuring
Step1:Secularization
Step 2: Nationalism
Step 3: Ideology
Step 4: Religion.
Caste system:
A political system defining
ideology rather than
vice versa.
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Warfare: Means to creating a New
Political Structure
The king, after conquering the world, should
enjoy dividing it into varnas [classes/castes]
Source:
Kautilya, Arthasastra, 13.4.62: 491.
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Ends justify the Means
Kautilyas Arthasastra - a book of political
realism, a book analyzing how the political
world does work and not very often stating
how it ought to work, a book that frequently
discloses to a king what calculated and
sometimes brutal measures he must carry out
to preserve the state and the common good
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Arthasastra
R. P. Kangle translates the word Arthasastra as science ofpolitics, atreatise to help a king in the acquisition and protection of the earth.
A. L. Basham says it is a treatise onpolity,
Kosambi emphasizes the economic importance of the word in calling it ascience of material gain,
G. P. Singh labels it a science of polity. Kautilya claimed to be putting forth what Heinrich Zimmer rightly calls as
the
timeless laws of politics, economy, diplomacy, and war.
Source:
Heinrich Zimmer, Philosophies of India(Princeton, N.J.: Princeton Univer-sity Press, 1967), 36.
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Ethics of A Global AgendaRejection of Fate & separation of Religion & Politics
Because he was offering his readers a science with which they couldmaster the world, Kautilya believed that having a passive stance toward theworldfor example, trusting in fate or relying on superstitionwasoutlandish.
One trusting in fate, noted Kautilya, beingdevoid of human endeavor,perishes.
His philosophy called for action, not resignation: The object slips awayfrom the foolish person, who continuously consults the stars; . . . what willthe stars do?
In urging the king to rely on science and not the precepts of religion,Kautilya separated political thought from religious speculation.
Source:
Sharma, Aspects of Political Ideas and Institutions in Ancient India, 26566.
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Psychological Warfare
Like Thomas Hobbes, Kautilya believed the
goal of science was power. His statements
Power is (possession of) strength and
strength changes the mind show that
Kautilya sought the power to control not only
outward behavior, but also the thoughts of
ones subjects and enemies.
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Blending Soft Power and Hard Power
An arrow, discharged by an archer, may kill
one person or may not kill even one person;
but intellect operated by a wise man would kill
even children in the womb.
Source:
Kautilya, Artha
sastra, 10.6.51: 453.
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Politics is more important than wealth,
armies and conquests
One who knows his science of politics canconquer the world, that one possessed ofpersonal qualities, though ruling over a small
territory . . . conversant with (the science of)politics, does conquer the entire earth, neverloses.
Source:
Kautilya, Arthasastra, 6.1.18: 317.
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Peace and Imperialism
For Kautilya world conquest is the true
foundation for world peace.
Source:
Narasingha Prosad Sil, Political Morality vs. Political Necessity: Kautilya and
Machiavelli Revisited, Journal of Asian History, 10142
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Diplomacy and Foreign Policy
Extensions of warfare Power and Self-Interest maximizing nature of state.
Morality & International obligations are irrelevant tonational interests.
War and peace only depend upon self-interest or
conditions of advantage for the state Alliances depend upon strengths and weaknesses of
state, not goodwill or moral obligations.
Political, economic and military interests determine
allies and enemies, which can change with changinginterests.
Humanitarian efforts are also based on self-interest
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Reliance on neighbours is weakness
A leader not assuming a worst case scenario
would be betraying his own people. A nation
forced to rely on the kindness of neighboring
states is weak and, unless it can change
rapidly, doomed to destruction
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Geopolitics: Mandala Theory of
Foreign Policy One with immediately proximate territory is the natural enemy.
Immediate neighbors should be considered as enemies, but any stateon the other side of a neighboring state is regarded as an ally, or, theenemy of my enemy is my friend
With respect to the middle king [he himself], the third and thefifthconstituents are friendly elements. The second, the fourth, and the
sixth are unfriendly elements.
Source:
Kautilya,Arthasastra, 6.2.19: 318.
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Foreign Policy:
Conquer or be conquered
Diplomacy:
War by non-violent means.
A non-violent strategy used in the prolongedwarfare that was either always occurring or being
planned for.Alliance Strategy:
All allies are future conquests, when the time is ripe.
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Blending both Soft & Hard power to
target the will of the adversary
A neighboring prince possessed of the excellences ofan enemy is the foe; one in calamity is vulnerable; onewithout support or with weak support is fit to beexterminated; in the reverse case, fitto be harassed or
weakened. These are the different types of enemies.
When Kautilya wrote ofexterminating an enemy, hemeant killing only the leaders. As we will see in more
detail later, he thought the best policy toward ordinarysoldiers and subjects was to treat them well.
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Preventing Balance of Power
In case the gains of two are equal, there
should be peace; if unequal, fight,
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Expecting JusticeThe Ultimate Sign of Weakness
Ineffectiveness of moral considerations in
asymmetry of power
Speaking of justice to an enemy about to
conquer is the last tactic of the weak
Accept treaty and use moral arguments
Abhorrence of war
Psychological tactics, bravery of men etc.
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Is Peace possible between India &
Pakistan?
Whereas these balance of power theorists
suggest that a nation arm itself so that it can
ensure peace, Kautilya wanted his king to arm
the nation in order to find or create a weaknessin the enemy and conquer, even to conquer the
world, or at least the subcontinent of India.
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War is the natural phenomenon among states, only
difference is in types and dimensions due to
differences in capabilities
Weaken the powerful
Conquer the weak
If weaker yourself, make treaty
Once stronger, breach treaty and destroy yourenemy
If equal in strength, avoid war and instead usediplomacy, psychological warfare, propaganda,agents, women to create disunity and moralweaknesses among the adversary to make itweaker than yourself, then destroy it.
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Role of intelligence Agents
Gather information regarding weaknesses, vulnerabilities, personallives of leaders, their relationships, likes/ dislikes etc
Identify societal differences and exploit them to create disunityamong enemy state
Divide the allies of adversary, to weaken and isolate him
Identify unhappy elements against opposing leader Incite enraged, frightened, greedy and proud elements, cultivate
them and use them against their own state
Influence the greedy through gifts
Use of women, cooks, artists, astrologers, assassins, poison givers as
agents Influence the non-greedy through dissention and force
Use of Rumors
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Weaken your neighbours and make his
adversary your dependent
Kautilya also sought to take a nation trying to remainneutral or indifferent and secretly provoke warbetween that nation and a neighboring kingdom, untilthe neutral nation sought his help.
Then Kautilyas king could place him under (his)obligations.
Kautilya himself had no moral qualms about breakingobligations or trust: That ally who might do harm or
who, though capable, would not help in times oftrouble, he should exterminate him, when trustingly, hecomes within his reach.
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Foreign policy: Extension of Wars
Foreign policy is just an extension of a nationswars, and the goal of foreign policy is not toend wars, but rather to ward off defeats and to
make sure one is successful in subsequentwarfare.
For Kautilya, all ambassadors were potentialspies with diplomatic immunity.
He wrote an entire section about how to fightwith the weapon of diplomacy.
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Rural Areas: Source of strength
While urban areas are rich, educated and
developed, they are also more vulnerable and
less patriotic during War
Bravery, Firmness, cleverness and numerical
strength all comes from the rural countryside.
Proposed Homogeneous Army (e.g; Ethnicity,
caste and profession)
Heriditary troops better than hired troops
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Military Affairs
Leader should keep a close watch on his ownmilitary
Counter-Intelligence
Monitoring loyalty of soldiers and officers toprevent coups
Generosity towards the defeated armies
Assassination, a better strategy than War Role of religion in Disinformation campaigns
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Types of War
Open WarConventional War
Concealed WarLIC/ Civil War
Silent War -Silent war is a kind of warfare with
another kingdom in which the king and hisministersand unknowingly, the peopleall actpublicly as if they were at peace with theopposing kingdom, but all the while secret agentsand spies are assassinating important leaders in
the other kingdom, creating divisions among keyministers and classes, and spreading propagandaand disinformation.
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Three Modes of fighting
According to Kautilya, Open war is fighting at theplace and time indicated; creating fright, suddenassault.
Striking when there is error or a calamity or revolt,
giving way and striking in one place, are types ofconcealed warfare; (1971)
Secret practices and instigations through secret agentsis the mark of silent war. (CBM of cultural, journalists,artists exchanges/Psy Ops/ Public Diplomacy/Strategic
Communications through Star Plus, Cartoons etctargeting the vulnerable segments of society, ladies andchildren)
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How can we Defend Pakistan beyond
the realm of Conventional Conflict
Whenever an enemy king is in trouble, and
his subjects are exploited, oppressed,
impoverished and disunited, he should be
immediately attacked after one proclamationof war.
Source: Rajendra Prasad, Politico-Geographical Analysis of the Arthashastra (New Delhi:
Inter-India Publications, 1989), 5860
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The Indian Imperialist agenda
Every adjacent kingdom should be looked upon as an enemy. If a kingdom
is strong, Kautilya called it a foe; if a kingdom is suffering calamity, then
it is vulnerable; if a kingdom has weak or no popular support, then it is
fit to be exterminated. Even if one cannot attack a strong neighbor or
foe, one can harass it silently and weaken it over time.
What Kautilya called an enemy fit to be exterminated was an enemy
with little or no popular support, an enemy whose subjects quite likely
would desert to Kautilyas attacking army.
Kautilya argued, that imperial expansion was the correct goal: After
conquering the enemys territory, the conqueror should seek to seize the
middle king, after succeeding over him, the neutral king. This is the first
method ofconquering the world. . . . And after conquering the world he
should enjoy it divided into varnas
Concl sion
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ConclusionKautilyasRelevance to 21st century statecraft
and modern strategy Intelligence and covert means
of statecraft
Chemical weapons programme
Political Assassinations
Psychological Warfare,
propaganda, public diplomacyand rumors
DiplomacyCoercive anddefensive
Foreign Assistance
Geo-politics Guerrilla Warfare
Regime changes, revolts andpolitical instability